Part of genealogy research includes finding interesting stories from the history of your family. These types of stories are often handed down by “word of mouth”. It is important to save them before they are forgotten. Here are a few ideas on how to put together your family history before it disappears.
There are plenty of good reasons why you should make some sort of record of your family history. Doing so preserves it for future generations. It is a way of making sure that those interesting stories, photos, and voices don’t get lost over time.
The way you choose to put it together can also turn into an excellent gift for the other genealogists in your family. Usually, the creation of these types of unique gifts takes quite a bit of time. Now is the time to get started if you are planning on using a family history related gift as a Christmas present for the genealogists in your life.
Legacy Books is a company that wants to help you preserve your family’s legacy. You contact them, and they will have a conversation with you about what you had in mind for your book. They will research, organize, write, and prepare documents for inclusion into your book. The finished books are hard cover, leather-bound, and very professional looking.
Lulu.com will let you self-publish a book about your family history. You have complete control over what you want to put into your book, and how you want it to look. Make a book that tells the life story of one, particular, ancestor. Put together a collection of all those family stories that have been repeated and handed down from one generation to the next. Create a book of family photos or a calendar with extra special family photos. The choice is up to you!
Create Your Life Story has a 25 page eBook that you can download for free. It teaches you how to make an audio recording of the stories told by your relatives. The book gives advice on different types of microphones, editing styles, and even ideas about how to digitally distribute your recording to your relatives. This can help you to share family history in an audio format, instead of a visual one.
Vistaprint is a great place to go if you want to make a calendar. You can add your own photos to your calendar. Choose some of those old family photos that have been sitting in a box for years. Or, select more recent photos that feature a particular branch of your family tree. Print off a bunch of calendars, and hand them out to your relatives at your next family reunion.
Image by Alexsandar Cocek on Flickr